Climate Change Climate Change Agriculture & Food Systems 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by livestock through enteric fermentation?
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O)
- Methane (CH4) (Correct answer)
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Correct answer: Methane (CH4)
Enteric fermentation in ruminant animals like cattle produces methane, which is released through belching and is a potent short-lived climate pollutant.
Question 2: How does ocean warming and acidification threaten U.S. seafood supply?
- It increases fish populations by expanding habitat
- It disrupts fish migration, bleaches coral reefs, and harms shellfish calcification (Correct answer)
- It has minimal impact on commercial fishing
- It only affects tropical fisheries, not U.S. waters
Correct answer: It disrupts fish migration, bleaches coral reefs, and harms shellfish calcification
Ocean warming disrupts fish migration patterns, while acidification inhibits shell formation in oysters, clams, and other shellfish critical to the U.S. seafood industry.
Question 3: What is 'food security' in the context of climate change?
- Ensuring food packaging is tamper-proof
- Consistent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all people (Correct answer)
- Stockpiling non-perishable foods for emergencies only
- Restricting food imports to protect domestic producers
Correct answer: Consistent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all people
Food security means that all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food—a goal threatened by climate-driven crop failures.
Question 4: How does the USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) help address climate change?
- It subsidizes synthetic fertilizer to maximize yields
- It pays farmers to convert environmentally sensitive cropland to vegetation that sequesters carbon (Correct answer)
- It funds research into GMO drought-resistant crops only
- It enforces pesticide restrictions on conventional farms
Correct answer: It pays farmers to convert environmentally sensitive cropland to vegetation that sequesters carbon
The CRP provides payments to farmers who retire marginal cropland and establish perennial vegetation, which sequesters carbon, reduces erosion, and improves wildlife habitat.
Question 5: Which shift in consumer diet is estimated to have the greatest potential to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions?
- Switching from bottled to tap water
- Reducing red meat consumption, especially beef (Correct answer)
- Eating locally grown produce only
- Eliminating packaged snack foods
Correct answer: Reducing red meat consumption, especially beef
Beef production has among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per calorie of any food, so reducing red meat consumption is one of the most impactful dietary changes individuals can make.
Question 6: What role does the Ogallala Aquifer play in U.S. food security, and why is climate change a concern?
- It supplies cooling water for nuclear plants in the Midwest
- It irrigates a large share of U.S. grain and cattle production, and is being depleted faster than it recharges (Correct answer)
- It is a reservoir for municipal drinking water only in Texas
- It has no relevance to food production
Correct answer: It irrigates a large share of U.S. grain and cattle production, and is being depleted faster than it recharges
The Ogallala Aquifer underlies the High Plains and irrigates crops feeding a large portion of U.S. food supply, but it recharges very slowly, making depletion—worsened by drought—a serious long-term food security risk.
Climate Change Climate Change Agriculture & Food Systems 2
What is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by livestock through enteric fermentation?